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Well, shit. This might be a problem.
TK sat at their normal table at their normal favorite after a long two day shift. Everyone was mingling among the crowd, which was something that was becoming more normal ever since they reopened the 126. Heck, even Grace had come out to take some time with Judd, dancing with him on the dance floor, meaning that baby Charlie was probably with Grace’s parents for the evening.
Even Carlos was chatting with the bartender, getting himself a second, and probably final drink. They were feeling secure in their relationship now, after having talked it out after he woke from his ill-advised coma. That had been a conversation a long time coming, but it left them as a stronger couple. He didn’t mind watching Carlos chat with everyone, because he knew who he was going home with.
Until Carlos turned back towards the table, and TK felt his blood run cold.
Even from forty feet away, TK could see that something wasn’t right. He looked out of it, not walking steady. Two mixed drinks never got Carlos anywhere near this tipsy.
He quickly spun around and tried to catch the eye of any one of the 126 that was around, but they were all caught up and not about to give him the time of day. He quickly swore under his breath before jumping up and meeting Carlos in the middle of the room, catching his eye and stopping him in his tracks.
“Hey babe, you good?” He held Carlos’ face in his hands, and looked straight into his eyes. Carlos looked as if he wasn’t really with it, like everything was foggy.
“Tiger?” Even his voice sounded far away and confused.
“Yeah, we’re gonna go get you checked out. I’m worried.”
Carlos blinked at him. “Okay.”
TK took his hand and led him though the crowd, while texting his dad and the 126 group chat at the same time. He didn’t want to wait for an ambulance while his boyfriend was still mobile. Instead, he’d just drive them over to Urgent Care and get him checked out.
Once he got Carlos settled into the Charger (and wow, TK got to drive the Charger and Carlos couldn’t argue with him, it’s a miracle), they quickly made their way to the nearest Urgent Care, who already knew them by name, which was awkward to say the least. The charge nurse took one look at Carlos and immediately had him brought back
Hours later, while Carlos was sleeping off whatever had been in his drink, TK finally checked his phone to see a lengthy message from his dad. And when he skimmed the words, it was all he could not do not swear out loud.
Apparently, Carlos wasn’t the only person that had been acting strange. At least three other people had also shown the same symptoms as Carlos, and were either taken away by ambulances, or were on their way to the hospital by their friends. To Owen’s annoyance, he’d found out that it was the
bartender that was slipping things into drinks, as part of an experiment for his graduate studies. He’d been personally arrested by Carlos’ coworker, Mitchell, who took personal offense to an officer being drugged for fun.
Owen finished by saying they would be by in the morning if they were still there, but they didn’t want to crowd them while Carlos was probably out of it.
TK quickly answered him, thanking him for the info and the offer to wait until morning, though it technically was morning at that point. At that, he sent a glare at the clock on the wall declaring it to be two a.m.
Message sent, TK leaned back in his chair and let out a quiet sigh. Their first real night out since everything had finally gotten back to normal, and it was ruined by some stupid person. At least everything would be okay. He just wasn’t very happy that his boyfriend had been one of the targets.
But they were okay, and that’s what mattered right now.